{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,27]],"date-time":"2026-07-27T15:18:11Z","timestamp":1785165491820,"version":"3.55.0"},"reference-count":53,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"10","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,10]],"date-time":"2025-10-10T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1760054400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/100000002","name":"National Institutes of Health","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","award":["R15EB033168"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["R15EB033168"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100000002","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"crossref"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["JFB"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Small-diameter vascular grafts often fail due to thrombosis and compliance mismatch. Decellularized plant scaffolds are a biocompatible, sustainable alternative. Leatherleaf viburnum leaves provide natural architecture and mechanical integrity suitable for tissue-engineered vessels. However, the persistence of immunogenic plant biomolecules and limited degradability remain barriers to clinical use. This study tested whether mild heat treatment improves scaffold biocompatibility without compromising mechanical performance. Decellularized leatherleaf viburnum scaffolds were treated at 30\u201340 \u00b0C in 5% NaOH for 15\u201360 min and then evaluated via tensile testing, burst pressure analysis, scanning electron microscopy, histology, and in vitro assays with white blood cells and endothelial cells. Scaffold properties were compared to those of untreated controls. Heat treatment did not significantly affect scaffold thickness but decreased fiber area fraction and diameter across all anatomical layers. Scaffolds treated at 30\u201335 \u00b0C for \u226430 min retained &gt;90% of tensile strength and achieved burst pressures \u2265820 mmHg, exceeding physiological arterial pressures. Heat treatment reduced surface fractal dimension while increasing entropy and lacunarity, producing a smoother but more heterogeneous microarchitecture. White blood cell viability increased up to 2.5-fold and endothelial cell seeding efficiency improved with treatment duration, with 60 min producing near-confluent monolayers. Mild alkaline heat treatment therefore improved immune compatibility and endothelialization while preserving mechanical integrity, offering a simple, scalable modification to advance plant-derived scaffolds for grafting.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/jfb16100380","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,10]],"date-time":"2025-10-10T12:32:47Z","timestamp":1760099567000},"page":"380","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":8,"title":["Improving the Biocompatibility of Plant-Derived Scaffolds for Tissue Engineering Using Heat Treatment"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"16","author":[{"given":"Arvind","family":"Ramsamooj","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Fred DeMatteis School of Engineering and Applied Science, Hofstra University, Hempstead, NY 11549, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0006-5855-4390","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Nicole","family":"Gorbenko","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Fred DeMatteis School of Engineering and Applied Science, Hofstra University, Hempstead, NY 11549, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Cristian","family":"Olivares","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Fred DeMatteis School of Engineering and Applied Science, Hofstra University, Hempstead, NY 11549, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Sashane","family":"John","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Fred DeMatteis School of Engineering and Applied Science, Hofstra University, Hempstead, NY 11549, USA"},{"name":"Cardiothoracic Surgery, Northwell Health, New York, NY 11030, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3463-2538","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Nick","family":"Merna","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Fred DeMatteis School of Engineering and Applied Science, Hofstra University, Hempstead, NY 11549, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,10]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"6221","DOI":"10.1039\/D5MA00663E","article-title":"An overview of small diameter vascular grafts: From materials to fabrication","volume":"6","author":"Li","year":"2025","journal-title":"Mater. 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